Boat dealers staying afloat

The Boat Show in Springfield returns this weekend after a one-year absence, and boat dealers say they’re hoping the leaky economy won’t sink consumers’ buying plans.

Chris Young

The Boat Show in Springfield returns this weekend after a one-year absence, and boat dealers say they’re hoping the leaky economy won’t sink consumers’ buying plans.

The show was canceled last year due to the failure of the electrical system at the Illinois State Fairgrounds.

Steve Poe, owner of East Side Marine, said dealers are expecting a good turnout, but he emphasizes that the number of serious buyers is more important than the total attendance.

“I think it will be well-attended,” he says. “The interesting thing will be to see how much discretionary income they have to spend.”

Some simply may be fighting off a case of cabin fever.

“I expect we will see more tire-kickers out there,” Poe said.

Rod Cooke of the Sangchris Bass Club says he hears little talk of new boats among the anglers in his organization.

“Most of them are going to stick with what they’ve got,” he says. “I haven’t heard anybody talking too much about buying a new boat. Most of the dealers are just real, real slow that I’ve talked to.”

The National Marine Manufacturers Association reported that attendance at boat shows in Kansas City, Nashville, New York, New Orleans and San Diego was down, but that sales were better than expected given the economic conditions.

Attendance at the New York National Boat Show was down 49 percent. But the New Orleans Boat Show was off only 5 percent.

Mike Miles, co-owner of The Boat Dock on Cockrell Lane, says an indoor sale a month ago at the Orr Building — the same location as this weekend’s show — was successful.

“We sold 23 units in a two-day sale,” he says. “It was wonderful. All things considered, it exceeded our expectations.”

“Springfield is a very stable market in comparison to the national market,” Miles says. “I believe it is primarily our white- and gray-collar roots. I believe we have a larger shopping draw than people think.”

About 250,000 people come to Springfield to make major purchases, he says. Springfield’s reach extends to communities such as Auburn, Virden, Taylorville and others in central Illinois.
Miles says his business is “committed” to the Boat Show, with 23 boats scheduled to be inside and more outside for a total of 40.

On Wednesday afternoon, a crew of three from The Boat Dock was arranging boats inside the Orr Building, according to a grid developed by co-owner Terry Taylor.

Taylor says the boats his business is displaying range in price from about $8,000 to $60,000.

Credit is tighter, but it’s still available.

“They’re still financing good people,” he says. “They’ve not doing the questionable ones — those days are gone.”

Some people may be itching to get on the water. Boating and fishing enthusiasts were hit from all sides last spring when historic flooding resulted in the closure of some lakes and made rivers downright dangerous to navigate. The annual boat show was canceled. There also was election-year uncertainty and $4 per gallon gas.

“That was huge,” he says. “I don’t think you could pile any more things up against us.”

Poe says East Side has been around for 46 years and has not experienced an economic climate like the current one.

“If forces you to be frugal,” he says.

“We’ve been here long enough that our customer base is loyal,” says Debbie Wallace, the sales manager at East Side Marine. “We’ve weathered some tough times, but nothing like this.”

East Side has fewer people working in its shop, down to four from seven. Staff members at East Side all are wearing several hats.

“If we have a regular customer that comes in every day, we make him work, too,” Wallace says.

“We just slap a tool belt on him,” Poe says.

He says talk of the recession lasting only one year may be premature. “I don’t think you can make that assumption at this point,” Poe says.

Some manufacturers are cutting back on production — or stopping altogether — and rules at shows have been relaxed to allow last year’s models to be displayed in an effort to reduce “non-current” inventory.

“There’s no question the economic state of affairs has caused some people to postpone purchases,” says Thom Dammrich, president of the National Marine Manufacturers Association based in Chicago. “But it is clear from the shows that there is pent-up demand. People want to buy but they are waiting for the economic picture to clear up.”

Dammrich says boat dealers nationwide are more and more optimistic.

“They’re not selling as many boats as they would like to, but they are still selling boats.”

The stimulus package passed by Congress should boost consumer confidence, he says.

“We’ll see people going ahead and making the commitment and making the purchase,” Dammrich says. “And we’ll see things turning around.”

Poe says despite the recession, business is better locally than this time last year.

“We are actually guardedly optimistic,” he says. “We are seeing more activity.”

Wallace says she has confidence that boaters and anglers are not going to stay home this summer just because the economy slows down — they just may not travel as far.

“By gosh, they’re going to keep on having fun,” she says.

Chris Young can be reached at 788-1528.

The Boat Show in Springfield

Where: the Orr Building on the Illinois State Fairgrounds

When: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. today and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

Tickets: $4. Kids 12 and younger admitted free.

Info: Call (618) 288-9952 or visit www.letsgoshows.com.

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